We live on the brink of exhaustion.
A swirling confluence of events, commitments, and opportunities leave our schedules saturated. Responsibilities from work, family, and friends compound our stress level and offer no hope of abatement. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day for us to make a dent in our burden, much less time for us to rest. Peace is a luxury we have written off at this point.
Yet we know the inherent value of sleep. Of the importance it has to the health of both our bodies and minds. Think for a moment on the feeling you had the last time you truly rested. The experience is life-giving. How do we therefore remedy our lack of time and sleep? How do we achieve true rest in the midst of our hectic lives?
David, of David and Goliath fame, modeled an attitude that strikes this difficult balance:
“I stretch myself out. I sleep.
Then I’m up again—rested, tall and steady,
Fearless before the enemy mobs
Coming at me from all sides.”
David authors this Psalm amidst his escape from an attempt on his life (a fairly stressful experience). He was on the run, but even then he understood the value of rest. More importantly, his faith was such that he felt comfortable enough to rest.
For it is faith in God and trust that this life isn’t the end that enables true rest. Absent faith in a greater power that sustains and protects, peace and sleep are fleeting. For if you are solely responsible for everything in your life, all the time, the pressure is astounding. To truly rest amidst that reality you need to delusional or drunk. Such is the reason God comes alongside and implores us to surrender our burdens to him.
O how we long for the freedom to rest. And what a necessary element it is! I encourage you to loose the tight reins you are holding on every facet of your life and return control to the only one who truly wields it. Perhaps in that act of faith we can experience the fullness of the rest we so desperately seek.